I saved quite a bit by doing my own make-up (after a much needed lesson from a very helpful salesperson at Sephora, who just happened to work in the industry for over 20 years).
Something I could have saved a lot of $$ on-- my hair. I was really disappointed in how it turned out. Unfortunately, my hair was so shellacked with hair products that I couldn't take it down and try it on my own without washing it, which I didn't have time to do. Notice I'm curling my bangs here... she didn't even touch my bangs. at. all. They were completely limp and stringy by the time we hit the reception. I wish I'd followed my gut after leaving the hair trial with pin curls (even though I'd showed her pics of a messy, loose bun). We could have spent the money on a steak dinner instead!
My bridesmaid's husband made our "arch" out of another friend's wood... for free. No rental/delivery/set-up fees, and the wood went right back to its owner after the wedding. We used urns that I'd had for eons at the base of the arch to make an altar. Filled with baby's breath, they looked simple and didn't detract from the scenery of the botanic gardens... and it was very cheap. Score!
If kids are invited to your wedding, put together a few items that they'll enjoy. Even if it's as simple as putting paper placemats and crayons at their seats... They'll stay occupied, and their parents will be able to have a little adult time before the kids get bored. And don't be surprised if it all turns up missing by the end of the night!
Word of advice--Roll with the punches.Nearly all 300 ranunculus that we ordered arrived dead or close to it. They had to switch the garden rose order to a completely different type and color, and all of the roses and berries now weren't going to arrive until the day before the wedding... at a time when I would have already driven the 30 miles into town to begin the weekend festivities. Thankfully I had a contact at the local FedEx office and was able to rearrange the delivery for pickup. I had a vision in my head of what the florals would look like, and I had to throw it out the window two days before the wedding. They still looked amazing.
Only 25 of these so-called "good ones" made it to the day of, and even those didn't open up. Thankfully, we were able to get a partial refund.
Get everything in writing-- no matter how well you get on with vendors. If they don't have a contract, write one up and have them sign it. They shouldn't be offended that you want to have all of your bases covered.If you have specific images that you want captured on your wedding day, make a list for your photographer. If they say they don't work off lists, explain that you don't expect them to carry it that day, but that you want them to know ahead of time what images are important that you have. Don't assume that they'll get a picture of your bouquet or up-close images of your ceremony... or anything in particular, for that matter. Ask how many pictures they expect to take during the time you've paid them for. Be proactive! Obviously, your photographers know how to do their job, but they can't read your mind. What's important to you may not be important to another bride and groom, so it's better to just put your wishes out there. If you do, you'll both know what to expect after the wedding is over.
Make sure your vendors will have a contact number for you to reach them and for them to reach you on the day of the wedding. We had so many things that we were managing last minute because of vendor issues. Some answered their phones, and some didn't! Our caterer didn't show up to do a walk-through with me the morning of the wedding, and her cell was dead. No bueno. We couldn't do a key hand-off because we couldn't get in touch with her... and we could have avoided some issues that arose later that night if she'd been available to go over everything one last time, even if it was just over the phone. We used two different rental companies and needed something from both the day of-- one had to supply us with a new bar table, and the other hadn't delivered the chairs to our ceremony site with 30 minutes until go-time. With the help of our friends Verizon & Blackberry, everything was resolved quickly.
Understand that there will be snafus, but most people won't have a clue that anything went wrong. Keep a smile on your face because pretty soon you'll be doing some of this...
And in the end... nothing else matters but each other.
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